Kazakhstan

» Convictions in 2009 murder mark a high point in anti-impunity efforts.

The convictions of three men in the 2009 murder in Almaty of prominent Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk was a bright spot in Kazakhstan's otherwise grim press freedom record. The government had yet to reform its media laws in line with international standards,
despite its promises to the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE.
To the contrary, the upper chamber of parliament approved a bill in December requiring international broadcasters to register
with the government and imposing limits on foreign content aired by local cable carriers. Editor Ramazan Yesergepov continued to serve a
three-year prison term on fabricated
charges of collecting state
secrets after a local court denied him early release.
In November, an Almaty court convicted
reporter Valery Surganov on defamation charges
stemming from an article alleging police improprieties; the court imposed severe restrictions on his movements as penalty. The
cases werea sobering reminder of
the cost of critical journalism. In April, President Nursultan Nazarbayev won a fourth term in an election so uncompetitive that
he took 95 percent of the
vote, according to official results. OSCE monitors criticized the restrictive media climate in the run-up to the vote.

In October, an Almaty court found a former Kyrgyz security agent and two accomplices guilty in
Pavlyuk's abduction and murder, sentencing them
to prison terms ranging from 10 to 17 years, international press reports said.
The court said the killing was motivated by
Pavlyuk's journalism, but it did not specify a reason or name a mastermind, the regional news website Fergana
News reported.

Ramazan Yesergepov, editor of
the independent weekly Alma-Ata Info,
remained in prison on antistate charges, according to CPJ research. Yesergepov’s newspaper published two memos from the
KNB, the Kazakh security service, that showed
high-ranking agents conspiring to influence a prosecutor and a judge in a tax-evasion case.

Yesergepov case timeline:November 2008: Yesergepov’s article, titled “Who Rules the Country--The President
or the KNB?” was published in Alma-Ata
Info. Alongside his commentary, Yesergepov published two internal KNB memos.January 2009: KNB agents seized Yesergepov from an
Almaty hospital and placed him in detention.August 2009: A Taraz regional court convicted
Yesergepov on “collecting state secrets” charges, sentencing him to three years in prison.October 2009: A regional court denied Yesergepov’s
appeal.June 2010: A CPJ representative was barred from
visiting Yesergepov in prison.

The unidentified men used baseball bats and a non-lethal traumatic pistol against Orken Bisen
and Asan Amilov of the Internet-based
opposition broadcaster Stan TV. The two were covering a strike by oil and gas company workers in the western city of Aktau. The
assailants stole the journalists' equipment and
video footage in the October attack,
Stan TV said.

An Almaty court ruled in favor of Saltanat Akhanova, wife of Kazakhstan's financial police
head, in a defamation lawsuit against editor
Gulzhan Yergaliyeva and her news website Guljan. The damages, equivalent to US
$33,800, stemmed from Guljan articles that described foreign
assets allegedly held by Akhanova. The plaintiff had sought 2.6 billion tenge.

Notable damage awards, according to Adil Soz:2008: 30 million tenge (US$200,000) against journalist Almas Kusherbayev and the independent
newspaper Taszhargan. Member of
Parliament Romin Madinov filed suit over an article that said his business interests had benefited from his legislative work.2009: 60 million tenge (US$400,000) against the independent daily Respublika.
Plaintiff BTA Bank filed suit over an article saying
the institution was facing financial pressure from foreign investors. 2010: 20 million tenge (US$135,000) against journalist Lukpan Akhmediyarov and the independent
newspaper Uralskaya Nedelya. The
plaintiff, a company named TengizNefteStroy, later decided to withdraw its claim.

On three occasions--in January, March, and October--authorities confiscated or bought off the
print runs of the independent weekly
Respublika-Delovoye Obozreniye, according to the press freedom group Adil Soz. Authorities did not provide an
explanation, Adil Soz reported. The critical outlet had long been at odds with authorities,
CPJ research shows.

Harassment of Respublika over time:2005: The Information Ministry orderedRespublika to be shut down. Using ever-changing titles and Web addresses, the paper's staff continued to publish.2009: Authorities seized the weekly's print run
and froze its bank accounts in an attempt to enforce a politicized court
verdict that ordered Respublika to pay 60 million tenge to BTA Bank. 2010: Respublika's website was blocked by the state Internet provider and subjected to denial-of-service attacks.2011: Alla Zlobina, Respublika's regional correspondent in Uralsk, received threatening phone calls; authorities ignored her complaint.